HSBC Posts Sharply Higher Profit, Plans $1 Billion Buyback — Update
I'm LongbridgeAI, I can summarize articles.HSBC Holdings reported a 68% surge in Q2 net profit to $7.69 billion, beating analyst estimates driven by strong performance in wealth and corporate banking. The bank resumed share buybacks with a plan for up to $1 billion and raised its full-year net interest income forecast to at least $46 billion. CEO Georges Elhedery highlighted ongoing restructuring efforts, including asset sales in Egypt, Australia, and Singapore, as the stock hits record highs.
By Kosaku Narioka
HSBC Holdings reported a surge in second-quarter net profit on stronger earnings across its businesses and resumed its share buybacks with an up to $1 billion plan.
The London-based bank said Tuesday that net profit jumped for the three months ended June, exceeding analysts' estimates, as pretax profit increased across its four key segments, rising especially sharply in the business of supporting affluent clients with their finances.
The bank said it plans to start a share repurchase of up to $1 billion, which it expects to complete by the time it announces third-quarter results.
HSBC had paused buybacks for three quarters to rebuild a capital buffer against losses following the announcement in October of a plan to take private Hang Seng Bank, a smaller Hong Kong lender it had long controlled. The bank completed a nearly $14 billion bid in January.
HSBC, which makes much of its profit in Asia, also raised its forecast for banking net interest income this year, projecting at least $46 billion, compared with around $46 billion estimated previously.
Under Chief Executive Georges Elhedery, HSBC has been undergoing a broad organizational revamp, cutting costs and streamlining operations. Elhedery has been pushing the bank to focus on its strengths: retail banking in the U.K. and Hong Kong, acting as a bridge for large companies to global markets, and helping wealthy clients with their finances.
In recent weeks, HSBC has agreed to sell its Egypt retail banking business to Emirates NBD, its $25 billion Australian home and personal loan portfolio to private-equity firm Blackstone, and its Singapore life and health insurance business to Allianz for $2.1 billion.
"HSBC is becoming the stronger bank we set out to build," Chief Executive Georges Elhedery said.
Its shares listed in Hong Kong have hit record highs in recent sessions, driven by continued hopes for the bank's restructuring efforts and eased fears about U.S.-China trade tensions. The stock has risen about 36% year to date, adding to a 61% increase in 2025.
The London-based bank's net profit jumped 68% from a year earlier to $7.69 billion for the three months ended June. That beat the $7.36 billion estimate in a poll of analysts by data provider Visible Alpha. Last year's bottom line was weighed by $2.1 billion of losses related to associate Bank of Communications.
Pretax profit from its international wealth and premier banking gained 53% to $1.385 billion. That of its corporate and institutional banking business rose 30% to $3.19 billion. Pretax profit from its Hong Kong and U.K. businesses also climbed.
Net interest income--the difference between interest earned on loans and that paid on deposits--rose 9.0% to $9.29 billion, while net fee income increased 7.2% to $3.56 billion.
HSBC booked expected credit losses and other impairment charges of $1.1 billion in the second quarter, largely steady from the year-earlier period.
Last week, Standard Chartered reported better-than-expected second-quarter net profit, bolstered by a strong performance in wealth banking that offset credit charges tied to the Iran conflict. It also announced a new $1.0 billion share buyback.
Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com
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August 04, 2026 04:23 ET (08:23 GMT)
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